Desert Homestead review

Friendly staff, particularly the knowledgable and helpful guide with whom we chatted in the evenings. However, an early breakfast ordered the night before on the guide's advice only arrived much later, delaying us in getting away to Sossussvlei. Food at dinner was terrible, and other guests were complaining as well. One dish of "lamb stew" was so tough it was inedible, and we are not normally fussy. The dining area is the furthest possible distance from the kitchen, so food is tepid when it arrives.

The cabins have nice views across the plains, but paths to the restaurant are poorly lit in places and it would be easy to trip over steps. Lighting is a major issue - by 7.30, dinner was over and the cavernous, gloomy, freezing dining room/lounge was deserted except for a few staff, but the poor lighting made in impossible to read there or in the cabins. The cabin doors and windows need better fastenings (they rattled and banged all night in the wind and kept us awake), and hot water bottles would be nice!

Horse riding is on offer, but we were unable to try it because of the weather.

Beautifully isolated magnificent backdrop

Our second warm welcome with a refreshing drink after a long dusty drive. Staff all very friendly and approachable. The giant ground crickets were also very friendly sharing our veranda as we watched an amazing sun-set over the Nakluft moutains

The lodge building had a very relaxed atmosphere and great views. It was here that batteries were charged in more ways than one.35/40 min drive to the Naukluft Park and the dunes. Sunrise is worth the early start ( packed breakfast) although you are at the mercy, time-wise, of the staff opening the gate. The dune ladscape is surreal. You can walk up Dune 45 early morning, any later in the sun...little chance

Desert Homestead review

We spent two nights at Desert Homestead. The staff were extremely friendly and welcoming. We arrived early from Bullsport and were able to have lunch at the Homestead.

The rooms are lovely, each room being a building in its own right with lovely views across the countryside.

Our meal on the first night was fantastic. Lunch is available for an extra charge. We did not have breakfast as we were on early excursions (including breakfast) both days. The staff put on a singing performance after dinner each evening

We took the Homestead's guided excursion to Sossusvlei/Sesriem. I'd noted the comments by an ealier Expert Africa reviewer about issues with other participants on their group tour. We also booked a group tour and it soon became clear why this can be problem. The other participants on our tour were primarily interested in climbing Big Daddy and became very annoyed any time the guide stopped and tried to provide us with information about the area or the chance to take a photograph - to the point where they even offered to take our photos for us out the window of the vehicle, so we wouldn't hold them up by getting out of the car! We felt that they wanted chaffuer rather than a guide. This seriously diminished our enjoyment of the trip.

We did not enquire about the cost of a private tour, nor were we offered one, but I'd seriously recommend that any future visitors look into this. Our guide on the trip was fantastic and we are only sorry that he was not allowed to do this job properly for the first part of the trip.

We also took a balloon ride over the desert. The operator does not pick up at this location; however, the early drive to the pick up point at Sossusvlei Desert Lodge was fine and in the direction of our route for the day. Homestead forgot to give us our wake up call, but as we had our own alarm this wasn't a problem. The balloon ride is absolutely fantastic and we can't recommend it highly enough. It is extremely well organised and the breakfast at the end was fantastic.

I'd highly recommend the Desert Homestead for a stay in the Sossusvlei/Sesriem area.

Desert Homestead review

The rooms here were beautifuly appointed and we particularly appreciated the addition of baskets and other thoughtfully placed decorative items which made it seem homely and individual and not at all soulless.

On arrival we were concerned to be told that the only self guided walking to be done was a very short route up a nearby kopje. This seemed to contradict the lodge literature which refers to walks (plural) in addition to guided walking. We seriously wondered why we had chosen to stay two nights on this basis as the availabilty of walks had been a prerequisite. This rather misleading situation was acknowledged by the very helpful Ivan who arranged to take us on a long walk himself when his fast pace and interesting conversation made for a memorable hike which he said he had 'trailblazed' with a colleague when he first started there.

Despite the reference to guided walks it seemed that these were not routinely offrered and /or there was little demand from guests. The rest of the time we amused ourselves by walking along the (fortunately quiet) main road to stretch our legs! As we don't like sitting around and aren't horse riders this probably wasn't the most appropriate place to stay in retrospect but we really appreciated Ivan's initiative and valued his company and knowledge on our talior made walk.

The Healthy breakfast option was wholesome and delicious but the evening meals were disappointing in content and made worse by being served barely lukewarm on cold plates. The seats for meals were hard and low to the table so we borrowed cushions from the sofas.

Dune roaming

We found Desert Homestead perfectly pleasant but nothing remarkable. That said, the room was certainly very good and the staff generally friendly and efficient. The meals were rather uninspiring - as if the kitchen were trying too hard to give their home cooking a dash of more restaurant-style flair - it just didn't quite come off.

Like most people we stayed here as a base to visit the dunes at Sossusvlei. We didn't take part in the mad rush to get to the park at sunrise but still had to queue 50 minutes for the permit, which was frustrating. Thereafter we had a very full day walking over the dunes from the parking lot to Sossusvlei itself, then Dead Vlei and finally Hidden Vlei. On the last leg the compass came in handy to get us back to the carpark and, to be honest, we could have done with a better map. It was worth staying late though for the late afternoon colours.

Desert Homestead review

Wonderful location and the rooms have fantastic views while being very private - the plumbing for the sink and shower (copper piping with on/off valves) was great! Lovely pool but lack of loungers - only 3.

Seating area for after dinner is very relaxing and comfortable. Food was good for two nights but lamb neck bone stew on the third night was disappointing - couldn't find the meat. Great service - smiley, friendly, happy staff.

We went for a sundowner horse ride - two experienced rides, one OK and one absolute beginner - Lisa was excellent at looking after us all.

Packed breakfast for sunrise at the dunes was very good. Only drawback is that the external gate to Sosussvlei opens one hour after the internal gate for those camping in the park. Buy tickets the day before and you can drive straight through when the external gate opens.

We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.